Metal wheel manufacture



APril 1930. E. H. ARNOLD 1,753,306

METAL WHEEL MAN FACTURE Original Filed June 22, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTO/P/VE) April 8, 1930. E. H; ARNOLD METAL WHEEL MANUFACTURE Original iied' Juhe 22, 1925 s sheets-shes: 2

VIlIIIIIIIIllIIIlIIIIIlI/IIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIIIIJ VIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIII I(all:1111) lp lllllrlllllazrdlm //vv/yr0/P I [rneazflAmZd M W ATTOR/Vf) April 8, 1930. H. ARNOLD I METAL WII-IEEL MANUFACTURE Original Filed June 22, 1925 3 Sheets-$heet s 4 I fi v 4 a F2919 "m I? 1 r 49 I @M '//VVA/TOR [772651 H-Arnold 'il a ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 8, 1930 PATENT OFFICE E NEST I-I. ARNOLD, F CLEVELAND, OHIO METAL WHEEL MANUFACTURE Application filed June 22, 1925, Serial This invention relates to improvements in metal wheels and their manufacture concerns especially the novel type of seamless spoke wheels wherein 'thespokes'are drawn from plate material by die pressure from the rim end of the. spokes inward. It is an object of my invention to make wheel spokes wholly by drawing and so form them and the remaining parts of the wheel that separate disc members are not needed in addition to the usual axle-receiving parts.

The demand of the trade in wheel structures is and has'been for sometime an allmetal wheel embodying hollow drawn metal spokes without changingmaterially the form of the hub portion thereof. Heretofore it was thought necessary in making tubular spokes, to either change the hub structure materially to shorten the inner endofthe spokes to seat therein, or to make the desired form of spoke in separate parts longitudinally and secure the parts together thus forming a seam which always has its well-known disadvantages. It is an object of mypresent invention to accomplish the stated result and do so by providing a spoke of integral materialall in one piece, thus avoiding seams, and do so by a series of drawing operations.

Further, objects will appear as the description proceeds. The details of construction and manufacture are recited in the appended claims and illustrated in-the accompanying drawings in which-.-

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing successi've initial steps in the method of manu facture of my spoke;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken i-na plane indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of an intermediate product as it appears-before the spoke is completed;

Figure 4 is a transverse section of this product taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3, and looking in the direction ofthe arrows;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of-the inner end of this intermediate product;

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views of the inner end of the spoke product showing successive operations thereon;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the prod- No. 38,713. Renewed August 31, 1929.

not as it appears after operations illustrated in prior views have been performed;

Figures 10, 11 and 12 sectional, perspective and end elevations, respectively, of a further step in said operation and the resulting product;

. Figure 13 is a side elevation of two spoke ends with a longitudinal section of anintermediate spoke therebetween; t

Figure 14 is a transverse section of a shown on the line 14-44 of Fig. 13;

' F'gure 15 is a side elevation ofa portion of a finished wheel;

Figure 16 is view of portion of a wheelin transverse section withother portions shown in elevation; i Figure 17 is a sectional detail view of the bolt and protective sleeve structure for securing the spokes to the hub, the same being on a larger scale;

Figure 18 is a detail of a modified bolt and sleeve structure; V i

Figures 19, 20 and 21-are sectional and perspective views, respectively, of modified forms of reducing operations; v

Figures 22 and 23 are perspective and sectional views'of further steps in themodified method Figures24 and 25 are perspective'and end views of an intermediate product;

Figure 26 is a side elevation of the modified product; r

Figure .27 is alon'gitudinal section of the product shown in the plane indicated by the line27'27 of Fig. 26,-and I 1 Figure 28 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of a wheel.

In this application Ihave shown,.for con venience in description, a well-known form of axle-receiving member comprising a 'cylinder 4:6, cap 47, flange part .41, and'a separate annular disk 43. Theseparallel parts are bound together by bolts 42having nuts 44, when the wheel is assembled;

The wheel comprises a usual rim part 35 and a series of drawn metal spokes 14- which are integral, each being tubular and seamless, including the outer end 17 secured to the rimand thewedge-shaped hub end 26secured be tween the flange and disk of the axle-receivspoke ing member. Qrdinarily, the outer end of the spokes is closed as at 17, and may be secured within apertures of the rim by first inserting in the apertures caps 30 which are first secured therein by folding back their peripheral flanges 37 about inner flanges 38 of the apertures, as shown in Fig. 28. The closed ends of the spoke and cap may then be crowded inward at 36 thereby expanding the edges of both at 39 and locking them in the rim.

The steps in the process of making the spoke are shown beginning with 1 of the drawings in which the cup-shaped form 10 has resulted from the first drawing operation beginning with a slightly elliptical blank, no flange yet appearing at the edge of the cup. The next in the drawing operations are indicated successively by 11, 12 and '14, each later step indicating a reduction in area of the product, and finally a flange 13 being quite appreciable in the product 12.

In the last form illustrated in this view, an elongated tube 14 is shown while the surplus stock has been drawn out peripherally to form the quite large flange 15 at right angles to the tube.

' In Fig. 2, the flange 15 is shown as elliptical in outline. and ready for the succeeding step which will be that of drawing the flange down into the enlarged form 16 which because of the form of die used in this last step, will be rectangular in cross-section, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. It is to be understood that the drawing steps in the formation of the product shown in Figs. 1 and 5 are not limited to the particular number there illustrated, the same being chosen to indicate the order of the operations which may require a greater number than the views mentioned show. In any case, when the flange 15 is bent down into parallelism with the tube 14, it will then have the polygonal form shown in Figures 4 and 5. An aperture 32 is then punched through one of the end walls of the prism.

The next operation or series thereof is chosen to result in the wedge-shaped end 26 shown clearly in Fig. 11. To form the tucks or pleats 25, the first step is shown in Fig. 6 where a solid core 23 is inserted in the end of the prism, a bar 22 is supported in fixed position above the prism but in contact with the wall having the aperture 32, while tucking blades 21 are forced laterally against the side walls of the prism and thereby tuck the walls inwardly at 20 toward each other and gently roll the edges of the stock beneath the bar 22 downward at as. These pleats 20 are of appreciable depths at tne open end of the prism but become shallower further back from the edge until just before it reaches the tubular portion of the spoke at 18, it wholly disappears. The blades 21 are then withdrawn and the parts 22 and 23 are forced toward each other until the pleats 20 are collapsed to form the final pleats 25, as shown in Figure 7.

The core 23 is then withdrawn since it is too large for the next step. The prism is then inverted and a new core is inserted which is of such thickness that there will remain between it and the bar 22 sufficient material for the second pair of pleats. The blades 21 are then again inserted to form similar pleats 20 in the same manner as before. During this operation, since the core 30 is so slender it is supported by a vertical stem 31 which may be passed through the aperture 32. The blades 21 are again withdrawn and the parts 22 and 30 forced together, resulting in the second pair of pleats 25, as shown in section in Figure 10, in end view in Figure 12, and

in perspective in Fig. 11. Holes 27 are then made in the side walls of these wedge-shape ends 26 of the spokes for insertion of the bolts 42, as shown in Fi s. 15 and 16.

These bolts pierce the dange 11 and disk l3 as well as the inner spoke ends, and I have devised a novel and efficient construction for reinforcing these ends against the crushing strain which the bolts tend to effect. In Fig. 17, I have shown peripheral flanges interned about the openings in the side walls of the spokes. l/Vhile I have designated these openings in Fig. 11, generally by numeral 27, I have in the details of my reinforcing mechanism, made one of the openings 27 somewhat larger than the other 28 at the opposite side, so that a sleeve may be inserted through the larger opening, there being sufficient space about the sleeve to afford room for the opening flange 33 around the sleeve. The sleeve 45 fits snugly about the bolt 4L2 and therefore rests against the edges of the peripheral flange 34, the outer edges of the sleeve bearing directly against the disk 43 at the nut end of the bolt. This sleeve used in conjunction with the flanged edges of the'bolt openings afiords great resistance to the said crushing strain.

In Fig. 18, I have shown a further arrangement of a reinforcing sleeve 15* which is large enough to be applied outside the smaller flange 3 1 of the opening, and inside the still greater opening afforded by the larger flange 33 Otherwise this form is not different from the preferred form shown in Figs. 16 and 17. V 1

In Figs. 19 to 27, I have shown a modified form of operations for attaining the reduced ends of the inner or hub ends of the spokes from the prismatic structure shown at 16 in Figs. 4': and 5. In this latter method I produce but one tucking of the material on either side of the prismatic end,-instead of two on each side which latter results in a collapsed pleat at each corner of the wedge, while the modified method will result in a single tucking-in of the material which will be almost mid- Figs. 20, 21 and 22.

way of the inclined surfaces of the spoke end. Referring in detail to this modified method, it is to be noted that the two methods are identical up to and including the production of the prismatic form shown in Fig. 5. From this pointthe two methods diverge. In the modified form, a core 49, shown in Fig. 19 as having in cross-section, the shape of a H, is inserted in the open end of the product shown in Fig. 5, but turned 90 to rest on its wider side, the core 49 supporting the shell with a lateral surface equal to the intended final width of the-open end when the operations are complete, leaving spaces within the shell on either side of the core, as shown plainly in Fig. 19. A blade 48 is now forced down into the slot 50 of the core taking with it the material of the smell on that side wall and drawing the ends together as'shown in the latter view. -This provides the middle tuck or bead 52 on one side.

The shell is now inverted, and with it the core, if desired, to bring the plain side of the shell on the upper side. The blade 48 then tucks-in the stock on that side also, so that the shell will then have the appearance shown in The core 49 is now removed, and a tool 54 employed to flatten out the pleat to the form shown in Figs. 24 and 25. This tool 54 is fork-shaped and provided with a longitudinal slot 55 whichwidens out to a segmental form atthe end '56, so that the insertion of the tool endwise into the core as shown inFigs. 22 and 23, will close the pleat 52. The enclosing ring 57 about the fork will support the latter and prevent undue spreading of the tines during the closing operation on the pleats.

The bolt holes for this form of manufacture are made in the side wall as an oval shape 59 before the pleats are collapsed and will then take the circular form 60 in the finished spoke. The final pleats 58 in this product will be like those in the preferred form, save that they are positioned mid-way of the side walls rather than at the corners, and there being but one oneach'side, may be manufactured at lower cost.

The finished spoke will now have a closed end for attachment to the apertured rim in the manner shown in Fig. 28, and an inner end wedge-shaped and tapering inwardly in the plane of the wheel but of uniform width transverse thereof. It will be seamless and will have inner ends of great strength to resist the strains to which it is subjected both longitudinally and in various transverse clirections. The beads 29 serve as very effective reinforcement against longitudinal as well as rotary strains, and the pleats 25 serve to reinforce the hub ends both against the above mentioned strains but against lateral crushing strain. Then the sleeves 45 or 45 serve for the latter purpose also, as before explained. In fact, the tucking operations recited in the descriptionof the making of the spoke, are not only advantageous as well as novel in this art, but have even greater value in the functions attained by the resulting structure of the inner ends of the wheel having an inner closed end and a spoke whol- 1y integral, seamless and without welding. And I have also produced such a spoke of the form ordinarily used when seated on the axle cylinder and bolted between the usual flangeand disk parts. Further my seamless spoke has so great strength that it may well be used by mounting the same between the flange and. disk directly-without the provision of other disks for securing the spokes therebetween, heretofore thought essential.

WVhen the spokes are secured to the rim, the

inner ends are bolted between the flange and disk members, the holes 32 being thereby covered, and the apertures 27 and 28 being filled by the bolts and sleeves. The sleeves 45 or 45 may, of course, be omitted if it is desired for any reason, but where there is to be gtilfil] strain encountered, their use is prefera e.

hat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The method of forming a tubular metal spoke for a vehicle wheel which comprises shaping a thin metal disc by a series of successive drawing operations into a product comprising a cylindrical body having an open end surrounded by a peripheral flange, and a closed-end, deforming said flange into a hollow, prismatic extension of said cylinder,

tucking in the stock at the sides of the said prismatic extension lateral of the wheel,

along lines longitudinal of the spokewhile' supporting the said extension within and without the same, pressing the sides of the tucks together to thereby reduce the hub end of the body and reinforce it without deform-l ing the sides thereof.

2. The method of making a metal vehicle wheel spoke comprising, shaping a thin metallic disc into cup form, shaping said cup into a hollow, cylindrical product having an open end surrounded by a peripheral flange at right angles thereto, and a closed end, shaping said fiangein'to a prismatic extension of said cylinder,- and tucking-in metals tock from the sides of the said extension along lines longitudinal of the spoke and of varying depth decreasing from the open end inwardly, and flattening out the tucks to 'result in a hub end of the spoke having uniform width transverse of the wheel but tapered inwardly in the plane of the wheel.

The method of making an all-metal vehicle wheel comprising, drawing from a blank of suitable form and size a closed-end tubular body with an open end prismatic extension therefrom of rectangular cross-section, tucking-in the sides of said extension and pressing the tucks together while supporting the extension on cores within the same to reduce the extension to wedge-shape form tapering inwardly toward the hub end, securing the closed ends of a series of said spokes in the rim, seating the hub ends on the cylinder of an axle-receiving member having a flange and a parallel annular disk, and bolting the spoke extensions between and to the flange and disk.

4. T he method of making a tubular metal spoke comprising, shaping a thin metal disc into cup form, shaping said cup by a series of drawing operations into a cylindrical body having a closed end and an open end surrounded by a peripheral flange at right angles thereto, shaping said flange into a prismatic extension of said cylindrical body, tucking in metal from the opposite sides of said extension on lines longitudinal of the spoke and to varying depth decreasing from the open end outwardly, and pressing to gether within the extension the material in the tucked-in portions to result in a hub end of the spoke having flat parallel lateral sides but tapered inwardly circumferentially.

5. The method of forming a tubular metal spoke for a vehicle wheel comprising shaping thin metal disc into a product comprising a cylindrical body having an open end surrounded by a peripheral flange and a closed end, deforming said flange into a hollow, prismatic extension of said cylindrical body, tucking in the stock of the said prismatic extension lateral of the wheel along lines longitudinal of the spoke, and pressing the sides of the tucks together to reduce the hub end of the body.

6. The method of making a metal spoke for a vehicle wheel comprising, shaping a thin metal disc into a product comprising a cylindrical body having an open end surrounded by a peripheral flange at right angles thereto, shaping said flange into a prismatic extension of said cylinder, and tucking in metal stock from the sides of said extension along lines longitudinal of said spoke, to re- 8. The method of making a metal vehicle wheel spoke comprising, shaping a thin metal disc into a product comprising a cylindrical body having an open end surrounded by a flange at right angles thereto, shaping said flange into a prismatic extension of said cylinder, and tucking in metal stock from the sides of aid extension to result in a hub end tapered inwardly in the plane of the wheel.

9. T he method of making a metal spoke for vehicle wheels comprising, shaping a metallic lise by a series of drawing operations into hollow, cylindrical product having an open end surrounded by a peripheral flange at an angle thereto, and a closed end, shaping said flange into a prismatic extension of said cylinder, tucking-in metal stock from the sides of'said extension along lines longitudinal of the spoke and of varying depth decreasing from the open end inwardly, and subsequent- 1y collapsing the open tucks to form closed plaits, resulting thereby in a tapered hub end of the spoke having uniform width transverse of the wheel.

10. The method of making a metal spoke for a vehicle wheel comprising, shaping a metal disc into a product comprising a hollow, cylindrical body having an open end surrounded by a flange at an angle thereto, shaping said flange into a prismatic exten sion of the cylindrical body, and subsequently tapering said extension inwardly in the plane of the wheel, by forming tucks of varying depth decreasing inwardly from the open end of the spoke, along the sides of said extension.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature.

ERNEST H. ARNOLD. 

